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Launceston
' Over the years, the city of Launceston has proven to outshine many of its East Coast rivals – including that of New York City, Philadelphia and Boston. It is currently the most densely populated city in the United States, overtaking its biggest competitor, New York City, at the end of 2012. Although it isn’t held in as high regard as New York City, it is quickly becoming a central hub for finance, commerce, art, entertainment, fashion, culture and education. Perhaps what it is most known for however is the rampant run of organized crime syndicates. Whereas Chicago, Detroit and New York City have been the preferred hotspots for Mafias in the past, within the last half-century the presence of Russian, Italian, Irish and more recently, French groups, has increased dramatically. A lot of criticism has been handed to the governmental bodies and respective law enforcement for not having made a big enough impact during their attempts to quell such behaviours. Past high ranking officials have often unsuccessfully been accused of being involved with the ‘families’ themselves, leading questions to be asked about whether the upper echelon of the city is too corrupt to ever make a real change to the destructive reputation the growingly public battles are imposing upon Launceston. The Five Boroughs 'Ainsburg Ainsburg is both the least wealthy and least populated borough of Launceston. Despite being the original settling place of the city, economic growth is larger in other areas and many people are leaving the borough for the likes of Brenton and for those who can afford it, Anderson Island. Like Brenton, it holds an ethnically diverse population, including a notoriously large population of Irish-Americans. It holds the city’s largest zoo and the stadium for the Launceston Leopards basketball team. It’s a generally run down area, suffering economically with high unemployment and homelessness. Crime runs freely and it is one of the central hubs for organized crime in the city. 'Anderson Island' Anderson Island is Launceston’s most densely populated borough. It is home to the landmark ‘Anderson Park’ as well as many towering skyscrapers and high-end apartment buildings. It is the financial center of the city and for the most part, the entire state, being home to many international corporation headquarters. The most notable of all the buildings is the tallest in the city, Bennett Tower , from which Jacob Bennett runs his business. Anderson Island is split in to three distinct sections. Downtown Anderson is where the upscale apartment complexes and waterfront condos are located. Midtown hosts the business district, most of the world renowned night life and bustling commercial center and the city’s prestigious Belmonte University . Uptown Anderson is the least modernized and wealthy area of the island and despite the rest of the borough relatively unscathed by territory wars, uptown does house several African-American and French-American gangs. 'Blakewater' Blakewater is comprised of a large industrial south and a heavily suburban north. The majority of the industry is located on the southern section where factories, power stations and construction companies are all based. Despite the fact Blakewater (and neighbouring Valence) are the only boroughs in the city without an underground rail system, it remains easily accessible. Its main attribute is the ferry system that operates between the docks of Hillenham and neighbouring Anderson Island, receiving a lot of traffic from both workers in the industrial area and tourists alike. The only way to enter the city without travelling through Valence first is via these boats or the Livingston tunnel to the north. The same ferry system also transports people to the infamous Collier Island to visit the landmark Statues and museum, a regular tourist attraction. With large, affordable houses, respectable schools and lots of local small businesses, the northern area of the borough attracts families from all over the city looking for a quieter life away from the hustle and bustle of Anderson Island. Safety is often brought in to question however, as oftentimes fights between the resident Italian families regarding the border between Blakewater and its fellow borough, Valence, are constantly occurring and drawing attention to themselves. 'Brenton' Brenton is the most ethnically and culturally diverse borough in the whole city, home to many large populations of European habitants; most notably, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Albanian. The districts vary immensely in their wealth, population and ethnicity. The districts of Cale and Yellow Wood are run down, gritty and mainly industrial whilst Stamford and Brennaman are highly populated with a small central business district of their own. Brenton is also home to the city’s largest airport, Launceston International – drawing many tourists through the area as they instead head toward the visitor attractions of Anderson Island and Valence. Organized crime and gang warfare is abundant in the area, generally pinned to the Russian mob as they fight other Eastern European factions for their territory. 'Valence' The borough of Valence is better known to the locals as ‘Little Italy’ thanks to the booming population of Italian Americans climbing to over sixty-five per cent. The streets are littered with competing Italian restaurants, cultural centers and other Italian owned businesses leaving Italian being a more fluently spoken language in the area than English is. Valence boasts the largest number of museums and visitor attractions and has a thriving commercial district that draws in as many tourists as its rival borough, Anderson Island. The district of Porto is home to the most extensive stretch of beach in the entire city, with a beautiful boardwalk and seafront attractions, making it a highly desirable place to both live and visit, meaning it is partial to the highest property prices in the entire borough. Managing to be cultural, attractive and habitable all at the same time the only drawback appears to be the presence of the notorious Valastro and Mancini families, associated with the Italian mafia. However, Valence natives are hasty to be critical of them, questioning whether the area would be as wealthy if it wasn’t for their input. Gang Warfare Gang warfare and organized crime are more than a thorn in the side of Launceston and progress far beyond ‘a few gangs here and there’. Most inhabitants know about it but are either too scared to stand up to it or profit from it under the table. It isn’t just a modern thing, however. Some of the families that stamp their presence upon the boroughs have lived here for generations and are constantly talking about how they wish to take back control they once savoured. They are generally well known but aim to slyly avoid being tied to anything that could land them in prison. Historically, the city of Launceston has been fought over violently between two particular foes. The well organized and funded Italian Mafia and the brutal, erratic Russian Mob . The hatred between these two gangs has ensured certified bloodbaths wherever they meet and wars over territory are a commonplace. But at the turn of the nineties, a new threat began to take shape leaving them with a single common objective. Although more discrete about their involvement in organized crime, the unequivocally intelligent yet equally ruthless French ‘St. Clair ’ family have shunted the others aside and taken center stage. Instead of fighting their wars hand-to-hand, they instead choose to take a cleaner approach. With their seemingly unlimited funds, they work their way around the legal system by bribing city officials, police officers and in turn use this to their utmost advantage in suppressing the opposing syndicates. It is rare a member of the family acts criminally themselves, instead preferring to send paid ‘muscle’ to take care of any problems for them. Despite once being an unknown name, they are now the most feared family in the entire city – showing little patience for anyone who threatens their power. The Russians, Italians and even Irish have been trying to tear them down from their intolerable reign for the sakes of their families and their freedom. Will their common goal ever be enough for them to work together in harmony for just long enough to regain control of their city? The Russian and other Eastern European families are most prominent in Brenton. The St. Clair’s live happily in their luxurious apartments on Anderson Island. The Italians spread over two boroughs, to include both Blakewater and Valence. The Irish, though dwindling in numbers, just about hold on to their home of Ainsburg. UNDER CONSTRUCTION